diff --git a/packages/nuxt/src/pages/module.ts b/packages/nuxt/src/pages/module.ts
index 8032a6dcb1..ed25eeb0cf 100644
--- a/packages/nuxt/src/pages/module.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxt/src/pages/module.ts
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ export default defineNuxtModule({
     addTemplate({
       filename: 'routes.mjs',
       getContents ({ app }) {
-        if (!app.pages) return ''
+        if (!app.pages) return 'export default []'
         const { routes, imports } = normalizeRoutes(app.pages)
         return [...imports, `export default ${routes}`].join('\n')
       }